FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: DECEMBER 10, 2015
RE: PRESS RELEASE – TONYA VALK
Tonya Valk, 45, from Saugerties, pled guilty on Thursday, December 10, 2015 in Ulster County, County Court to the class D felony of Grand Larceny in the third degree.
Valk working as a bookkeeper in charge of financial matters including payroll – over a period from January 1, 2008 to May 11, 2013 - embezzled $227,904.00. Valk’s criminal pattern included forging checks and padding her salary with unauthorized increases. She was able to hide her embezzlement for years by generating false banks statements which she submitted to the company’s partners. During the course of her crimes half of the company’s 32 employees were laid off.
Valk is scheduled to be sentenced in Ulster County Court on February 18, 2016 by County Court Judge Donald Williams. She is facing a maximum term in state prison of 2 1/3 to 7 years. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Mila Schutzman. Valk is represented by Jeremiah Flaherty, Esq. of Kerhonkson.